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BOXING: Malignaggi and Broner ready for bout

Paul Malignaggi, left, lands a left to the face of then-champion Vyacheslav Senchenko during their WBA welterweight title fight in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 29, 2012. Malignaggi won the fight and title.

Two of the best trash talkers in the business of boxing collide as WBA welterweight titlist Paul âMagic Manâ Malignaggi defends against WBC lightweight titlist Adrien âThe Problemâ Broner, who is moving up two divisions.

Aside from being excellent boxers, both are equipped with the sharpest tongues in the sport.

âThe last time I heard, Adrien was a girlâs name,â said Malignaggi upon seeing Broner walk into a press conference with a T-shirt emblazoned with âHey Pauletteâ in red letters.

After two months of verbal warfare, Brooklynâs Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs) accepts the challenge from Cincinnatiâs Broner (26-0, 22 KOs) on Saturday, June22. The welterweight title fight takes place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Showtime will televise.

Broner has emerged as the so-called heir to Floyd Mayweather, with many of the mannerisms and verbal talents of the Las Vegas prizefighter. What remains to be seen is if he has the boxing skills that separate Mayweather from all others in the sport. Talk is one thing, fighting is another.

Malignaggi doesnât think Broner compares to Mayweather.

âHe's a little guy and he's going to see how overrated his power was. I think they were better off letting him fight a lightweight, or someone below that, before him fighting a live guy welterweight,â said Malignaggi, 32. âHe's fighting this, this bigger guy all in one jump so I don't think that was the most intelligent move on his teamâs part. It doesn't really matter to me.â

It came as a surprise when Broner revealed he was moving up two weight divisions and venturing from the 135-pound lightweights to the 147-pound welterweight level. Many had expected Broner to meet one of the talented lightweights, or even the super-talented junior welterweights such as Lucas Matthysse or Danny âSwiftâ Garcia. Instead Bronerâs team decided to challenge Malignaggi.

âI'm really not worrying about jumping weight classes,â said Broner, 23. âYou'll probably see another knockout; nine times out of 10, check on my record. He's bringing pillows to a fight that I'm throwing bricks, so you should see a lot of blood and a lot of bruising before the referee stops the fight.â

Malignaggi is making the second defense of the world title he won by knocking out Ukraineâs Vyacheslav Senchenko in April 2012. The fight was in the Ukraine and Malignaggi was expected to give a tough performance, but few if any predicted a knockout win. Then he defeated Mexicoâs heavy-handed Pablo Cano.

âI'm not going to tell you that I'm going to sit here and knock him out in one punch, but he's going to feel a lot of punishment on next Saturday night. We'll see how bad he really wants it. He talks like he wants it so bad,â said Malignaggi, who trains at the Wild Card Boxing gym in Hollywood. âWell, you're going to go through a lot of pain in a situation where he's not even going to win, so in the end he may just tell himself it's not worth it and he'll just quit.â

Broner, who has six consecutive knockout wins, believes he is the fighter with the power advantage, though Malignaggi is the bigger fighter.

âIt's like (Manny) Pacquiao when he was in smaller weights he was knocking guys out. When he went up in to the bigger weights he was still knocking guys out. It's just something that God blessed me with,â said Broner, who is managed by Al Haymon, who also guides Josesito Lopez and Chris Arreola. âI've got power, so it really don't matter what weight class I'm in; I'm still going to have the same power as I had at any weight class I'm in.â

The confident Broner fights with that shoulder roll style similar to Mayweather on the inside and returns fire with counter right hands. He also has a powerful left hook. If necessary, he can move around the ring on his toes. But he is most effective with his in-the-pocket stance.

Malignaggi is a boxer who also can fight in the pocket. But he prefers to box and move while sticking jabs at opponents if they get too close. He has underrated power that is sometimes hampered because of hand injuries. Malignaggi has been prone to hand injuries most of his career, but has lost only to some of the best fighters in the last 10 years: Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan and Juan Diaz.

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